Taxi drivers continue strike after negotiations fail

Barcelona taxi drivers decided to maintain a strike to demand regulation against car-hailing companies after the Spanish government failed to fulfil their demands in a meeting on Monday.

In the sixth day of the strike, two of Barcelona's main streets remain occupied by thousands of cabs. They have also threatened to block the French border and the port.

They are calling for limit to the number of licences made available for car-hailing services. Companies such as Cabify and Uber put their jobs in danger, they say.

A ratio of one license for every 30 taxis is envisioned in the current regulation. Taxi unions claim this ratio is much higher, and want all of Spain’s regional governments to commit to respecting the ratio.

The Spanish government offered to pass new legislation in September that meets some of the demands put forward by taxi drivers. Yet, they decided to continue strike at least until a major meeting on Wednesday.

Drivers camped out in the city occupying more than three kilometres of Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes on Friday, one of the capital's major roads. On Monday, they also blocked the Passeig de Gràcia.

The move came in response to Spain's High Court in Catalonia announcing that it would maintain the suspension of local regulation limiting the number of licences for car-hailing services.

The old-school yellow and black Barcelona cabbies are striking because, for them, the unlimited issuing of said licences is unfair competition. They see the likes of Uber and Cabify as a threat.

Moments of chaos in some of the Catalan capital’s streets have become familiar over the last few days. Many travellers seeking to travel around, or in and out, of the city in a cab have had to seek other means of transport such as the bus, or train.